Essays: These questions offer you a chance to put your ideas into your own words, and are usually done on paper. I will ask a question that leaves room for you to expand on a basic thought and show me what you know and can explain. These essays are not mostly about being right-or-wrong, but about your ability to organize your ideas into a logical answer. I am looking for Clarity, Accuracy, and Relevance as the fundamental standards, with Depth and Breadth as the standards for excellence. The test usually has one essay for each benchmark assessment, so make sure you have something to day for each of these benchmarks! Grades will be awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale, the way report cards are reported. Essay answers that get a 4 are excellent; 3 means "good", 2 means "average", and 1 means "poor". I will try to spot failing answers before you leave so you can get some credit.
Multiple Choice Questions: These questions try to trick you into choosing a tempting-but-wrong answer. If you are never fooled by these questions, that would be amazing--better than excellent. Getting 4/5 questions right is tricky, so I consider that a standard of excellence. Even getting a few of them right is worth some credit, so I think of these on a 5-4-3-2-1 scale as well.
Monster Question: This multi-part question is how I make deal with failure.